The 23rd Media Awards ceremony of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has been launched in Accra. The flagship event which seeks to reward hardworking journalists is scheduled for Saturday October 27, 2018, and will be held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra.
This year’s awards is under the theme: “State of Investigative Journalism: Boundaries of Privacy and Borders of Public Interest” will have the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the Special Guest of Honour and Professor Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu as the Speaker.
Speaking at a brief ceremony to launch the event on Wednesday (August 29), the Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, said the role of the media in Ghana’s democratic dispensation will be felt if outcome of investigative pieces and stories help government to empower and strengthen state institutions.
Dr Akwetey tasked journalists to not only expose wrongdoings but also ensure that accountability is enforced through the law and justice system.
For his part, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr. Roland Affail Monney, said the work of the journalist is hellish with endless work schedules and deadlines.
He noted that even in the face of fatigue, journalists are expected to deliver peak performance and therefore reechoed the need for journalists who excel in their work to be rewarded handsomely.
He called on corporate Ghana and consumers of media content to support the award scheme.
“Indeed, numerous are individuals and companies which ride on the back of the media to make it big. So in the spirit of reciprocity, in line with corporate social responsibility and for the promotion of the country’s democratic ascendancy, the media awards must receive overwhelming support at all times to motivate practitioners to go the extra mile to serve our dear nation” Mr. Monney reiterated.
SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES
Vokacom Limited presented a cheque for GHc20,000 to support the event. Ashfoam Ghana will support some award winners with products worth GHc20,000 and an amount of GHc30,000 to support the upcoming awards.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is also supporting the event with GHc50,000. According to the Ministry, the drive to support the 23rd edition of the GJA Awards was in recognition of the role the media played in the fight against galamsey, illegal logging and fight against land guards in Ghana.
The launch of the 23rd GJA Awards was held at the Kempinski Hotel — a major sponsor of this year’s awards with a sponsorship package worth $40,000.
The event was attended by the acting Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Ransford Tetteh, Chairman of the National Peace Council, Professor Emmanuel Asante, Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr Emmanuel Akwetey and General Manager of Kempinski, the National GJA Executives, former national chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Paul Afoko, President of the Association of Women in the Media, editors and journalists from some media houses and other invited guest.
STORY BY: HENRIETTA AFFUL
